This is Me
by The Disposable Villain
Summary: All he wanted was to not be an it. To not be like them - Marik, or his fathers. To be himself. Deathshipping.


_DV: Heya guys! I hope you enjoy this story. It was inspired by a picture that my friend drew. Follow them on Facebook at **Samael Dire Artwork** and instagram at **Samael_Dire**! I hope you enjoy this story!_

 ** _UPDATE: I was not aware that this story was similar to sitabethel's 'Me'. Upon a review mentioning the similarities, I went and read the story, and have now tried to update this to cut similarities between them. I encourage everyone to read sitabethel's stories._**

 **-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-**

Ryou stood in the corner of his room. He was safest there – with his back against the wall. The spirit couldn't sneak up on him that way.

The Ring hung heavy around his neck. The metal was cold against his chest, even through his _Harley Quinn_ t-shirt.

"Come out." His voice was hard. Nothing happened. He ripped the ring off his body and glared at it. "Come out or I'll put you in the freezer again. And I won't warm you up again afterwards."

 _"What do you want?"_

Ryou jumped, despite knowing that it would happen. He looked up. The spirit sat on the bed, his legs crossed.

"Why did you do it?"

Bakura frowned. "Do what?"

"I know you've been using my body to scare people again."

Bakura's frown deepened. "No I haven't."

"Bullshit." Ryou glared at him.

"It's true!" Bakura insisted. Ryou saw his fists clench. "You know I'd be boasting about it if I did!"

"Well then what other vampire do you know?"

"I'm not a vampire," Bakura snarled. As always when he got too angry or excited, his teeth were sharp. "I'm a demon."

"If you're not a vampire, you're human. And nothing more." Ryou folded his arms. Bakura's glare matched his. "Well?"

Bakura looked away. "It wasn't me," he muttered. "Now can I go?"

Ryou huffed. "No. Not until you tell me the truth."

"It is the truth," Bakura snarled. "It wasn't me."

"Then who was it?" Ryou snapped. "I know you've been taking my body out at night. You're too observant not to have noticed something." Bakura folded his arms. "Tell me and I won't argue next time you try to borrow my body."

"It's not like it makes a difference," Bakura muttered. "I take it anyway."

"Yes," Ryou agreed, "but remember that time I took it back without you even knowing I was out of my soul room?" Bakura's eyes narrowed. "I can do that whenever I want. Tell me who it is or I'll do it every time you try to take over for the next month."

Bakura glared at the floor. "It's Marik's yami."

Ryou frowned. "I thought you got rid of him."

Bakura shook his head. "What do you want me to say? It's literally made of Marik's hatred. It's not a person. It's not like Marik could get rid of all of his hatred; it's impossible, especially with his past. We got rid of it for a while, but it came back before long." He looked up again. "Can I go now?"

"No." Ryou glared at him. "Why didn't you try to stop him?"

"I did!" Bakura snapped. "It has its own body now. I don't know how, but it does. We kept it locked up for a while, but it got out."

Ryou shook his head. "And then it started terrorising kids?" Bakura nodded. Ryou rolled his eyes and threw the Ring on the bed. "I'm going out, and you're not taking over this time."

"You can't save it, Ryou," Bakura called as Ryou walked away from him. "It's not a person."

"Yeah? Well neither are you, and I haven't given up on you yet." Ryou pulled the door closed behind him.

* * *

Marik's other half was crouched behind some bushes in the park when Ryou found him. "Hey."

The other jumped and whirled around to face him. His eyes narrowed. "Bakura."

Ryou pursed his lips. "No, I'm Ryou."

"But your surname's Bakura."

"Yes, but the spirit stole that." Ryou sighed. "It's complicated."

"Well I'll make sure your death isn't." The other Marik smirked. It faded when he heard Ryou start laughing. "What's the matter with you? I could kill you."

"So could any other human," Ryou scoffed, dropping his bag by his feet. "You're not that special. Hell, a motivated duck could probably kill me."

The other Marik growled and tackled Ryou to the grass. Ryou winced but didn't struggle. He brought a hand up to grab his bag.

The other Marik caught his wrist and slammed it against the ground. "No."

Ryou sighed. "I just want to get some water."

The other Marik smirked. "You think I'll fall for that? You think Holy water could actually hurt me?" His tongue dangled out of his mouth, hovering above Ryou's face. "How _cute_."

"Not Holy water. Just water." Ryou shrugged. "I thought you might be thirsty." The other Marik narrowed his eyes. "I also have some food if you want. Do you eat meat?"

"Just white meat," he muttered. His eyes were still narrowed like he expected Ryou to pull out a bottle of Holy Water and throw it at his face, reciting Bible verses. And also like he wouldn't be surprised if he did.

Ryou nodded and pulled his hand free. He unzipped his bag as best he could and pulled out a few sandwiches and water. "I assumed you haven't had much to eat since you got out."

The other Marik didn't reply; just snatched a sandwich out of Ryou's hand and opened it. He sat back enough for Ryou to climb out from under him.

"Why are you here?" He asked as he took a bite.

Ryou shrugged. "Why did you scare all those people? Yugi and his friends all thought it was Bakura. I get that it's Halloween, but it was a bit excessive, don't you think?"

The other Marik scoffed. "Why do you care after everything he's done to you?"

"He's not that bad." Ryou took a sandwich for himself. "Besides, you never answered my question."

The other Marik tore another bite out of his sandwich. "I got angry. I get scary and break things when I'm angry."

"Why did you get angry?" Ryou asked.

He gritted his teeth, his nails digging into the sandwich and squashing the lettuce and chicken inside. "I look like them. I can't get my hair to stay sticking up anymore, and I look like them."

"Who?"

"Marik and…" His teeth ground together. "His father. I saw my reflection in the mirror and broke out."

Ryou glanced up at the other Marik's hair. It was drooping, and sloppier than he remembered. "You could get a new hairstyle."

The other Marik shrugged. "What's the point?" He grumbled. "It's not like I'm even real."

"Yes you are. You're just as real as Marik."

"Yeah right." The other Marik threw what was left of his sandwich away.

"What's your name?" Ryou asked.

The other Marik blinked. "My what?"

"Name." Ryou smiled. "I don't want to go around referring to you as Yami Marik." The other Marik scowled. "You might as well steal a name for as long as you're going to exist."

He narrowed his eyes. "Kek. I guess."

Ryou frowned. "Where'd you get that from?"

"It's an old god. One before Bakura or Atem's time." Kek shrugged, the manic grin returning to his face. "And if I'm going to steal a name, it might as well be from a god."

Ryou tried to hide his smile. "Very well, Kek." He didn't quite succeed. "I guess we're just going to have to find you a new look to go with your name."

* * *

Ryou looked up as Kek walked through the door. Bakura scowled – a quick game with a god too willing to play for any price had ended him with his old body. "No. No, no, no, no, no. He's not coming in here."

"I'm not a boy." Kek folded their arms. "I use they pronouns."

Bakura glared at him. "You should just be grateful I don't still call you 'it'." Kek matched his glare.

"Bakura, be nice." Ryou shot him a glare as he stood up. "This is my apartment; I let you stay here without rent. I get to invite whoever I want over for dinner."

Bakura's glare darkened and he glanced at Kek. "Fine. But I'm not staying." He grabbed his leather jacket off the couch and pushed past Kek. "I'm going to stay with Marik tonight. I'll be back when it's gone."

"Go fuck yourself," Kek snapped, glaring after Bakura as he slammed the door shut.

Ryou sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry about him."

"Don't worry about it." Kek shrugged. "Not your fault." They pulled off their black and white striped bandana. In the year since they had sat eating sandwiches in the park, Ryou had been helping them get used to how they looked, and alter their appearance.

They no longer identified as a boy - but gender neutral. Their golden hair was now mid-back length and knotted into dreadlocks that they kept tied in a ponytail under a bandana. Silver studs, knives, and rings hung off their ears, nose, and lip - Ryou had gotten a job at the piercing salon and had done some of the piercings for them. He was slowly learning to become a tattoo artist too.

They tended to dress in more effeminate clothes, and now was no exception. Black heels that laced up around their calves, a black leather skirt, and a red shirt reading _Warning: Punk music may cause creativity._

"So?" Ryou was grinning now. "Did you get it?"

Kek nodded. "Yeah. I haven't taken off the bandages yet." They were too scared.

They hadn't gotten the scars that had ended in their creation and Marik's father's death. And they felt… bare without them. So Ryou had come up with a solution.

Kek pulled their shirt off, and Ryou untied the bandages, letting them fall away. His eyes widened.

The ivy vines crept up Kek's back and wound around his shoulders. Thorns dug into one or two areas, dripping blood down into a puddle where a few straggly flowers grew, and a single white rose.

Similar to the scars on Marik's back, wings grew from his shoulder bones, white fading into grey fading into blood red wherever they touched off the blood.

Quotes from books, films, and songs that Kek had grown to love over the year were inked under the wings, ending just above the rose.

 _Every rose has its thorn._

 _Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light._

 _It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees -_ that was a personal favourite of Ryou's; adjusted from the original to fit its purpose.

Ryou smiled, gently touching Kek's shoulder. "It looks amazing," he murmured. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and took a quick picture, before passing it to Kek to see.

The other stared at the screen, their face blank.

Ryou took his hand and squeezed it. "How do you feel?"

A small smile crept across Kek's face. "Like… me."

"Good." Ryou leaned up and kissed their cheek. "Now, are you ready to put on your costume and scare some kids again?"

Kek's eyes lit up and they turned towards Ryou's room, where their vampire costume was waiting. "Give me ten minutes." They flashed a grin at Ryou. "And remember the Holy Water. It mightn't work, but it's cute."

Ryou grinned. "Just go get changed, you dork."

* * *

 _DV: Well. Okay. That… that was not what I had in mind at the start, but I'll take it. Sorry if it's not very Halloween-y, but I hope you like it! Please review! See you next time, Killer Queens!_


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